Read this editorial by Mariella Mosthof about the cancellation of Geoff Edgers show, Edge of America, on Travel Channel. Make sure you read Geoff’s article linked within the Braiser piece. Edgers was kinder than Mosthof, and I think it’s genuine. Had Edge of America rated better (I loved the show) it would still be on. And I think we all know going in that numbers dictate everything, every move, every decision that a network makes. In the midrange cable TV space, with all the competition for viewer attention, this is perhaps an understatement. Geoff acknowledges as much, but Mosthof raises some great questions about the splintering of the TV audience as cable stations clamor for claiming a unique personality for their programming as a whole. It’s a great read and this issue is one you will hear more about as networks and stations all have to make some tough decisions in coming years about who they are and what they stand for, if anything at all. I get asked all the time to ‘do this or that’ or ‘not to’ from execs at my network. When I agree, I comply. I take what I need from their suggestions and leave the rest. It’s the benefit of having been on air with Bizarre Foods for 8 years and having started out as ‘just being myself’ on camera. On most days I am convinced that if I was starting my career in TV now instead of a decade ago I wouldn’t last a season. I came up in a different era and am grandfathered in, so to speak. I am curious what you all think about the elitism issue that Mosthof and Edgers raise vis a vis on-air personalities? Let me know . . .

***

The James Beard Foundation Awards (check out all the pics on my Instagram feed) honor the best and the brightest talents in the food and beverage industries. Awards go to Restaurant and Chef, Restaurant Design, Books, Broadcast and New Media, and Journalism, as well as a few special achievement awards. Each category has an individual awards committee made up of industry professionals who volunteer their time to oversee the policies, procedures, and selection of judges for their respective awards programs. All award winners receive a certificate and a medallion engraved with the James Beard Foundation Awards insignia and a hearty handshake. There are no cash prizes. Let’s get right to it.

Friday night the book, broadcast, and journalism awards took place at Gotham Hall in NYC. Thomas Keller and Michael Ruhlman sat at the table behind me and I was repeatedly scolded by friends at my table for tweeting at them, making jokes, and generally behaving like a child in school. Guilty. I wish the world could see this hysterical and warm side of Keller. It really is amazing to most who meet him for first time how kind and funny he is. His reputation for seriousness is legendary, but he is always the first to come give his friends a hug and laugh. Ruhlman is simply hysterical and smart all the time. As he put it at the end of the night, “we have to kill a pig together and eat it real soon.” Agreed. The room was stunning, filled with most of the leading magazine and book editors, producers, publishers, media moguls, famous chefs, food writers, and dining critics in America. It was a great night, perfect in almost every way. You should go next year. Seriously.

Local wunderkinds Daniel Klein and Mirra Fine took home a JBF award for their series Perennial Plate. I stood and shouted, and pumped my fist when their names were called. I am a huge fan. Sadly they weren’t in the house, and I slunk dejectedly back into my chair. I will have to wait on my congratulatory hug for them. These young people are going places.

Gran Cocina Latina: The Food of Latin America by Maricel E. Presilla took Cookbook of the Year honors. Deserved. This just in, everything Latin is hot, getting hotter, and not going away.

Publication of the Year went to the non-profit magazine that strives to connect kids to food. ChopChop was a fabulous choice and I think its recognition shows you how far our industry is going to make our world a better place. Check them out at chopchopmag.org.

Local legend Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl was nominated for the M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award and I was rooting for her all the way despite having several friends in the category . . . but it went instead to Bizarre Foods Chicago alum Mike Sula for his Chicago Reader, “Chicken of the Trees” piece. If you haven’t read Sula’s amazing squirrel honoraria you need to do so. It was one of the best pieces I read all year and I have a particular fondness for the subject matter and for Mike. Congrats.

Television Program, On Location winner was The Mind of a Chef, hosted by Anthony Bourdain and produced by Anthony Bourdain, Joe Caterini, Alexandra Chaden, Jonathan Cianfrani, Christopher Collins, Peter Meehan, Michael Steed, and Lydia Tenaglia, all my pals at ZPZ Production. Both my show and Steve Rinella’s show were in this category and I thought a three-way tie would have been fair. Oh well. Seriously, it’s an awesome show and we need more shows like it on TV, intelligent and insightful and not filled with the typical fluff you see on the air. It takes risks.

Food Coverage in a General-Interest Publication went to Men’s Health and their editor Adina Steiman who is a good friend of mine and works her ass off to make the food coverage in that mag what it is. That’s the hardest job in the biz, convincing general interest publications to keep food smart and relevant. She also won a second award that night. Boom. Love this lady. Congrats!

Group Food Blog award went to Dark Rye, which is essentially a Whole Foods Market online video mag. Its pretty brilliant and their win demonstrates the unique blend of art and commerce circulating online and competing with traditional media. This is the type of site that scares the crap out of cable networks because Whole Foods sinks traditionally spent ad dollars into this and succeeds! Voila. Game changer.

Individual Food Blog went to Bizarre Foods alum Hank Shaw of Hunter Angler Gardener Cook. Hank is an amazing man, and many people first met him in our Northern California episode on our dove hunt. He’s a superb guy and stands at the intersection of the hunt/fish/forage/cook movement. Keep tabs on his stuff if you love food, even if you never head into the great beyond to find it.

On the food side of the equation, Monday night’s Chef and Restaurateur Awards saw NYC take down a lot of the medals, and most food pundits who are Los Angelenos, Chicagoans, Houstonians all thought their cities could have fared better. True enough. The nature of these awards is such that every nominee is easily defendable as a hands down winner. Makes parsing the finals a moot point. There are always frustrations. I was thrilled that Wylie Dufresne finally won a JBF award. He and I were talking on Saturday at the Eleven Madison Park annual Derby Party about the nature of awards in general and while the world knows of his brilliance and he is on every chefs list of ‘top 10 best,’ its nice to get the recognition from the JBF.

Speaking of parties, I hope everyone gets a chance to do the following:

·        Find out how funny Alex Stupak is to hang out with, shoot the breeze. This young man is as smart and awesome as they come.

·        Have lunch with Chris Shepherd and Ryan Lachaine from Underbelly. Their food focus is laser sharp and they are superb folks.

·        Attend a Southern Foodways Alliance event. I went to the annual lunch on Monday at Butter, Alex Guarnaschelli’s restaurant, and the food was superb and the company even better. Julian Van Winkle really does carry around his own flask of the worlds best bourbon, John T. Edge is really that cool to hear talk about anything, and Jennifer Cole, Ed Lee, Matt Jamie, Team Besh, Team Animal/Son of a Gun, Francis Lam and all the others there make for the finest lunch mates I could have imagined.

·        Attend the annual Derby Party at Eleven Madison Park. Grandma Humm’s fried chicken with house ranch and pickled vegetables is a legend in the making.

·        Eat the new squab dish on the menu at Osteria Morini. Torpedo onions and crispy skin. Boom.

I should tell you that I also attended Restaurant Daniel’s 20th Anniversary party and can safely report that it was universally regarded as the most flawless, impressive over-the-top experience many of us can ever remember attending. Yes, aspects of it felt a little bit like the fall of the Roman Empire, but c’mon, Sirio and Martha were there! Team Boulud killed it and hometown hero Gavin Kaysen of Café Boulud was beaming with his team that day.

Monday night, awards went to the following:

2013 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards

Rising Star Chef of the Year
Danny Bowien, Mission Chinese Food, SF and NYC . . . the hottest restaurant of the year just got hotter.

Outstanding Bar Program
The Aviary, Chicago . . . the gold standard.

Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional
Merry Edwards, Merry Edwards Winery, Sebastopol, CA . . . 40 years in the wine biz as a leader and a visionary. Great choice.

Outstanding Wine Program
Frasca Food and Wine, Boulder

Best Chef: Great Lakes
Stephanie Izard, Girl & the Goat, Chicago . . . I got to put the medal around her neck and couldn’t have been more proud of my friend.

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic
Johnny Monis, Komi, Washington, D.C. . . . My favorite resto in the region but I was pulling for Spike Gjerde at Woodberry Kitchen.

Best Chef: Midwest
Colby Garrelts, Bluestem, Kansas City, MO

Best Chef: New York City
Wylie Dufresne, WD~50, NYC . . . it’s about time. Wow. Shocked to hear he hadn’t won this before.

Best Chef: Northwest
Gabriel Rucker, Le Pigeon, Portland, OR . . . long overdue. My meal at LP was one of most memorable of the year.

Best Chef: West
Christopher Kostow, The Restaurant at Meadowood, St. Helena, CA . . . if you love food and love seeing what chefs can do when they are in full command of a brilliant team, superb technique, and perfect ingredients and you don’t head out west and book a table here one night and Manresa the next, you should have your head examined.

Best Chef: Northeast
Melissa Kelly, Primo, Rockland, ME . . . one of my favorite restos in Maine

Best Chef: South
Tory McPhail, Commander’s Palace, New Orleans . . . the legend of Commanders continues.

Best Chef: Southeast
Joseph Lenn, The Barn at Blackberry Farm, Walland, TN . . . superb choice, and the cult of the farm groweth!

Best Chef: Southwest
Jennifer Jasinski, Rioja, Denver . . . surprised many, but not anyone who has eaten at any of her restaurants.

Restaurant Design and Graphics: 75 Seats and Under
Isa, Taavo Somer, Brooklyn, NY

Restaurant Design and Graphics: 76 Seats and Over:
Juvia, Alejandro Barrios Carrero Designs, Miami Beach

2013 Who’s Who Inductees
Zarela Martinez, Michael Mina, Bill Yosses, Eric Asimov, Dorothy Kalins, and Barbara Lynch

Lifetime Achievement Award
Cecilia Chiang (Chef and Restaurateur, San Francisco) . . . taught America to love Chinese food.

Humanitarian of the Year
Emeril Lagasse (Chef and Restaurateur, New Orleans) . . . devotes most of his time to charity and doesn’t advertise it. A superb humanitarian.

Outstanding Pastry Chef
Brooks Headley, Del Posto, NYC . . . one of my favorite places to eat.

Best New Restaurant
State Bird Provisions, San Francisco, CA . . . my first stop on my next trip out there.

Outstanding Service
Del Posto, NYC

Outstanding Restaurateur
Maguy Le Coze, Le Bernardin, NYC . . . superb choice, the only restaurateur with one restaurant in the bunch of nominees. Says it all. Wow.

Outstanding Restaurant
Blue Hill, NYC . . . Dan is the man.

Winner of Outstanding Chef
TIE  I love ties. It means more winners.
David Chang, Momofuku Noodle Bar, NYC
Paul Kahan, Blackbird, Chicago

After the show aired, Carl’s profile has exploded. He’s been featured in dozens of magazine and newspaper articles, got some major coverage in the New York Times and thanks to that article, was seen a few weeks ago on The Colbert Report.

Carl has some big ideas, radical in one sense, but rooted in the way we farmed and fed ourselves a few generations ago. He has successfully established several new breeding programs, including his stellar Iowa Swabian Hall hogs. He has figured out how to grow a better tasting, healthier hog that’s affordable for all. He has created a sustainable food system, and most importantly, one that’s economically sustainable.

Thanks to all the attention he is getting, he now he has a lot of demand for his pork. That would be great news, but like so many family farms, he has limited resources to do physical upgrades to the farm. These changes need to be made so he can grow his herd and spread the gospel of edible wellness. I believe in this guy. And I want to help him. I get asked all the time by my readers, listeners, and viewers how to help make a difference in our world (as I like to say “one meal at a time”), and this is how you can do it.

Carl has launched an Indiegogo funding campaign that I am supporting. Carl is calling it Inventing Better Tasting Pork. Check it out, and let Carl tell you himself what, why, and how he needs to upgrade his facility in Iowa. Please help. And best of all, Carl has some great product and cool swag for anyone who helps out. Here is a cool link to Des Moines Register’s coverage of Carl, and you can check him out on our Iowa episode from this season as well.

Bottom line—helping America’s family farmers solve our biggest health problem in our country is something we should all want to invest in. Decentralizing our food system, making healthier and better tasting pork that costs less, reinvigorating our farm economy, and solving food security issues is everyone’s responsibility.

In other meat news, all the mystery is hopefully being taken out of the consumer’s quandary with figuring out the traditional meat cut chart used at supermarkets and butcher shops all over America. So when Carl sends you some pork, you will know what to call it.

Just as awesome is the ridiculously good food that Erik Harcey is cooking up at Rustica Bakery. There is a small vibrant menu at Rustica, and I have eaten there three times with spectacular results. Potted chicken liver mousse, cured salmon sandwich, mortadella, and robbiolia sandwich . . . everything I try there is just pitch perfect.

Huge congrats to Jamie Malone of Sea Change. Earlier this week my other boss, Dana Cowin, made the announcement of Food & Wine magazine’s 10 Best New Chefs, which I think is right up there alongside the James Beard designations as the standard for recognizing excellence in our industry. For 25 years, this prestigious award has gone to the best of the best, chefs such as Daniel Boulud (’88), Tom Colicchio (’91), and David Chang (’06). The official selection is explained as follows by the F&W team:

Food & Wine’s editors choose the Best New Chefs after a months-long selection process. The editors solicit nominations from restaurant critics, food writers and other trusted experts around the country, then travel incognito to taste the food themselves. Chefs who have been in charge of a kitchen for five years or fewer are eligible.

Well, I don’t travel incognito but my relationship with this magazine is public knowledge, and as someone who is on the ‘inside’ of six different culinary awards programs, I can tell you without hesitation that the F&W Best New Chefs award is painstakingly thorough and consistently recognizes our top chefs. “I am thrilled to announce this year’s Best New Chefs,” Cowin said. “With a 25-year perspective on the awards, it’s clear that these talented cooks have a brilliant future ahead of them. I can’t wait to see where they’ll go and what they’ll cook.”

2013 F&W Best New Chefs
Danny Bowien Mission Chinese Food New York, NY
Justin Cogley Aubergine Carmel, CA
José Enrique José Enrique San Juan, PR
Matthew Gaudet West Bridge Boston, MA
Jamie Malone Sea Change Minneapolis, MN
Chris Shepherd Underbelly Houston, TX
Alex Stupak Empellón Cocina New York, NY
Andy Ticer & Michael Hudman Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen Memphis, TN
Jason Vincent Nightwood Chicago, IL
Michael Voltaggio Ink Los Angeles, CA

I am fascinated that Sea Change, a restaurant with superb food/service/ambiance, hasn’t gotten as much local mojo going for it, and I hope this changes that. Erik Anderson was the first chef there, he left Sea Change a few years ago, went to Nashville, and with his partner Josh Habiger, opened the stupendous Cat Bird Seat—they won a F&W 10 Best New Chefs last year! Point being, Sea Change is a major-league restaurant and has produced two designees in the last two years. No other restaurant or chef(s) on the list in 25 years can say that.

For chefs looking to make a big impact, you need to first and foremost cook great food, consistently but you also need a digital business card. A home base online that works for you as you build your brand. I found a cool new restaurant website company called Dining Image that lets chefs and restaurateurs build easy and affordable websites online. When I am making appearances or talking to chefs and resto owners, I am always asked about websites, are they worth it, can it be done and managed effectively, and will it yield results. The return on investment is key with marketing restaurants because an operator needs to focus 1,000,000 percent of their attention on the food. If you want to see just how it easy it is to build, watch my pal Josh Capon construct a website in the time it takes him to eat a burger! This isn’t a gimmick. I think access to easy options like this for busy chefs will revolutionize the way food service is marketed. Check it out.

Not a lot of folks read Gourmet Retailer. In case you missed it, check out this story on my family over at Cooks of Crocus Hill. And . . . here is the back story on a local business that is a WORLD LEADER despite its tiny local footprint. On March 3, 400 people from around the world were in Chicago to celebrate 23 companies from 20 countries who had been selected as GIA winners for 2013. The GIA is the Global Innovator’s Award. It’s the houseware industry award for organizations exhibiting the finest in retail innovation and merchandising. It’s the James Beard Award for retail. Recently, huge companies such as Crate and Barrel and Bloomingdale’s have represented the United States. Each year the selection committee receives more than 200 applications for the United States alone! That Cooks of Crocus Hill was even selected is a fantastic honor. But they won the 2013 retailer of the year in America! Anyway, the 23 international winners for their countries convened in Chicago to celebrate the five companies selected for the highest honor of Global Innovator. In the past six years, the winner from the U.S. has not won one of the super-coveted international Global Innovator Awards. HUGE crazy props to Karl, Marie, Martha, and the whole Cooks of Crocus Hill family . . . wow, couldn’t happen to nicer, smarter people.

I was overjoyed to see Jesse Grffiths’ Afield: A Chef’s Guide to Preparing and Cooking Wild Game and Fish get a nod in the “Single Subject” book category. Welcome Books in New York City made a brilliant book with Jesse, and it really emphasized for me how “right” the JBF got it this year. What a tough job it is narrowing down so many talented and deserving entries all across the board, there will always be some sour grapes, some of it deserved as well, but the JBF really nailed it this year.

I must be getting really old, because I know almost everyone on the docket this year, and I will be sitting on my hands in NYC come May trying not to root for anyone because I really want everyone I know to win. Now, you might be saying to yourself, I bet all the nominees think that “everyone who is nominated is a winner.” That sort of talk is for pussies. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s an honor of honors to be nominated, but once you are, you better want to win. And if you don’t win, you graciously congratulate your friends (I am up against Anthony Bourdain and Steven Rinella who both host shows by Zero Point Zero Productions for “Television Program, On Location”), and if I lose to either Mind of a Chef or Meat Eater, I won’t be upset. They are great shows and probably more deserving of a win than I am, but up until the envelope ripping moment of truth, I will be wanting to win more than I want to lose. In the “Outstanding Personality/Host” category, I am up against Sara Moulton and Gerry Garvin. I am so blessed, it’s just an honor to be nominated . . . and I want to win that one very badly also.

Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl is nominated for the “MFK Fisher Distinguished Writing Award” for her Mpls.St.Paul Magazine piece “The Cheese Artist.” She is up against Richard Parks who wrote a piece for Lucky Peach called “Khmerican Food,” and my pal Mike Sula of the Chicago Reader who wrote an amazing piece called “Chicken of the Trees.” Look ‘em all up and read them, superb food writing should be read. I am rooting for Dara because she is my friend, and I am not nominated in that category. Daniel Klein and Mirra Fine got a nod for “Perennial Plate,” an amazing web series. They are superbly deserving, and I am rooting for them all the way because I am also not nominated in that category.

In the chef/restaurant categories, I was snubbed once again. Apparently I don’t qualify for those awards. The silver lining is that I can root for anyone! But in every category, there are four or five people I know, some for decades. In our region, “Best Chef: Midwest” noms went to Justin Aprahamian of Sanford in Milwaukee, Gerard Craft of Niche in St Louis, Colby Garrelts of Blue Stem in Kansas City, and local legends Michelle Gayer of Salty Tart and Jack Riebel of Butcher and the Boar. I am thrilled for Jack and Michelle, they earned those nominations in every way possible. I am thrilled for our region, and what it says about our city. I can think of six or eight other local chefs that could have been named as well, but you can’t have 25 names up for an award. That’s what the semis are all about and why making it that far is such an honor. Remember there are eight states in our region! I have personally gone on record about my personal happiness eating at Travail, Tilia, Piccolo, Sea Change, La Belle Vie, and Victory 44, and I think the chefs at all those restaurants will get their nominations and awards, and I am sure I am blanking on a few others that I can’t remember right now because it’s late, and I am angry I wasn’t nominated (again) for “Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional.”

Bourdain Live & Parts Unknown
We all know Bourdain will be traveling the United States over the next two months to bring his “Guts & Glory” tour to live audiences beginning April 12 in San Francisco and ending May 13 in Washington D.C. Bourdain will stop in Minneapolis at the State Theatre at 8 p.m. on Saturday, May 11, 2013. I will be there for sure.

The other Bourdain—the chef, author, bon vivant, and award winning TV guy—finally has a launch date for Parts Unknown, his new CNN show. It airs Sunday, April 14, at 8 p.m., CST. Set your DVRs. For those who don’t know, Bourdain left the Travel Channel last year and has created a one-hour weekend lifestyle series that travels across the globe to uncover, as the press release says, “little-known areas of the world and celebrate diverse cultures by exploring food and dining rituals. Known for his curiosity, candor, and acerbic wit, Bourdain takes viewers off the beaten path of tourist destinations—including some war-torn parts of the world—and meets with a variety of local citizens to offer a window into their lifestyles, and occasionally communes with an internationally lauded chef on his journeys.” I have seen clips of a few episodes on Bourdain’s phone one night over dinner, and trust me, this is a show you won’t want to miss.

First up, Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. From there, it’s on to Libya, Colombia, the Quebecois side of Canada, Koreatown in Los Angeles, Tangier, Peru, and the Congo. For more Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown, check out @partsunknownCNN (#PartsUnknown) on Twitter and Facebook, plus viewers can follow the live blog at CNN.com/partsunknown.

Headlines such as World’s Best Restaurant Sickens Customers and other crazy fantastic-izing reminds me of local news weather forecast promos and teases. Just awful! If you want to know the facts about the Norovirus at NOMA check this out. Ninety-nine percent of the media outlets covering the story should be ashamed of the accuracy of their reporting. Everyone except Evelyn J. Kim, who cuts to the heart of the health matter and understands the impact this has for our industry and where it hurts the most. Good reading.

I will be there with bells on. No single organization that I can think of has done as much to promote and honor food, farms, chefs, winemakers, bakers, restaurants, pastry chefs, designers, etc., as the James Beard Foundation. Awards are hard, discerning winners is easier than narrowing semifinalists down from the thousands of culinarians worthy of consideration. Anyone who thinks this is a popularity contest is ignorant of the massive amount of work that goes on year-round to determine the lists. No one gets it right all the time in terms of nominees, there are way too many deserving of listing, but at end of process, the winners chosen in NYC are the best and brightest in our industry.

This year Minnesota is represented in nine categories. Our chefs from eight restaurants are nominated for Best Chef: Midwest, one of the 10 regions the JBF divides our food-nation into. The Midwest region includes Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri.

Semifinalists in Best Chef: Midwest include:

Mike Brown, Bob Gerken and James Winberg of Travail Kitchen and Amusements in Robbinsdale

Steven Brown of Tilia in Minneapolis

Mike DeCamp of La Belle Vie in Minneapolis

Doug Flicker of Piccolo in Minneapolis

Michelle Gayer of the Salty Tart in Minneapolis

Jack Riebel of Butcher and the Boar in Minneapolis

Lenny Russo of Heartland Restaurant & Farm Direct Market in St. Paul

Sameh Wadi of Saffron Restaurant & Lounge in Minneapolis

Isaac Becker (112 Eatery), Alex Roberts (Restaurant Alma), and Tim McKee (La Belle Vie) have all won the award over the last six years. Russo is fast becoming our state’s Susan Lucci—he was a nominee in 2010, 2011, and 2012. Michelle Gayer was nominated for the Outstanding Pastry Chef category in 2002 for her work at Charlie Trotter’s and again in 2010 for her work here in Minnesota.

Lucia’s was nominated for Outstanding Restaurant, Tim McKee of La Belle Vie in Minneapolis was nominated as Outstanding Chef. Steve Horton of Rustica in Minneapolis was given a nod for Outstanding Pastry Chef. In the Rising Star Chef of the Year category, Jamie Malone of Sea Change was recognized. Sapor Café and Bar got a nod for Outstanding Service. The Outstanding Bar Program nominee list includes Marvel Bar in Minneapolis. Kim Bartmann of Bryant-Lake Bowl, Barbette, Red Stag Supperclub, Pat’s Tap, and Bread & Pickle, received a nomination in the Outstanding Restaurateur category, and Eric Seed of Haus Alpenz in Edina got a nomination for Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional.

Kramarczuk’s in Northeast Minneapolis will receive a coveted American Classics award at the annual gala. Congrats to them.

Best way to beat the airport blues, bump into the amazing & talented @kellyrowland .... Not luck, destiny. Get it?

You knew you were in New Orleans and you knew it had to be Super Bowl Week: Elevator-to-baggage claim, 200 limo drivers holding up signs for corporate types and A-List celebs. Background music provided by a second line band, all set to the staccato backbeat of the clickety-clack of a hundred pairs of six-inch Loubs scooting across the linoleum floor as the out-of-town party girls made their way to the cars picking them up at the curb. Super Bowl week is something else. I get to the hotel room at 6 p.m., hundreds of famous faces in the lobby, I see my old pal middle line-backing legend Dhani Jones. We make plans to hang and I go to my room . . . just in time to see the fireworks show over the river. So impressive here in NOLA, and as the weekend proves, NO ONE does the week-long event better than the City of New Orleans. Everything works here—the proximity of events to each other, great food and drink, gracious hosts . . . I wonder how all this will work in NYC next year with the game being played in New Jersey and the whole world in Manhattan? Riding elevators with guys such as Dr. Harry Edwards, George Seifert, and hundreds of players and former players will give you a swivel neck ache like no other. I am suffering from kid-in-a-candy-store-ism. I have tons of pics on my Instagram account (@chefaz) and at andrewzimmern.com so go check it out.

Night one is all about eating. We went to Restaurant August, and John Besh, Michael, and their entire team cooked a meal for the record books. Three hours of insane chow celebrating all the flavors of NOLA. The stunning array of oysters, crawfish, pastas crushed under the weight of sliced truffles, game meats, and STUNNING SWEETS were the stars but watching Aarón Sánchez getting mobbed by fans, Packers great Clay Matthews having a Jerry Maguire dinner with his agent, Jeremy Piven working the room, half the year’s Playboy playmates, and about a dozen other stars stuffing the intimate, little dining room was a lot of the fun for sure. My pals swore they spotted reclusive super-agent and entertainment mogul Andrew Chason. Not sure I buy it.

Friday was all about the Let’s Kick Hunger Campaign for Taste of the NFL, check out tasteofthenfl.com and make your reservations now for next year in New York City. I spoke on hunger relief awareness issues at the Earl Morrall breakfast, sitting in the room with a hundred Hall of Famers including most of the Undefeated 1972 Dolphins Team that Morrall helped lead to Super Bowl glory 40 years ago. Mallory Hagan, our new Miss America, was my co-host for many Taste events all weekends—I have a pretty good job most days. I broke off for an hour to do The Dan Patrick Show on DirectTV and make some étouffée, then Miss America and I took a slew of press and corporate execs out to Second Harvest food bank for a walk-through and awareness-raising event. It couldn’t have been better. I spent a few hours in the NFL Media Center doing interviews and then up to the NFL store. I saw some friends who had the same idea I had and got to spend some time with Patrick Warburton and Dhani Jones before rushing off to the Friday Night Huddle for Taste of the NFL and then off to do The Artie Lange Show. Artie is a great guy, and hanging out with him and Joe Buck talking baseball was way cool. I cooked some Asian street food and then hit the showers before heading over to the first party of the night, The Playboy event at the old Jax Brewery.

A word about the scene here: Divide the weekend into several layers . . . First there are the fans. They get tons of access depending on what they choose to buy into. I wanted to hit the NFL Experience but couldn’t get in, that’s a ‘fan’ event. Then there are the celebs, tiered in A, B, and C Lists. We get invited to parties, host events, do media interviews, participate in sponsor activations, and race around town all night going to parties. Like restaurant health department grades, the better your letter, the better your fun quotient, and most importantly, the better your access at events. And the better your perq-package.

For example, you can get the opportunity to buy a ticket, or get one as a gift, or get add-ons like VIP area access where there is food and drink and there are tiered levels of VIP areas, within areas, within areas! Will someone drive you, or are you on a shuttle, or are you hoofing it? Then there are the players and the NFL execs. They attend everything they damn well please. It’s the Super Bowl! It’s their celebration. Then there are the sponsors. They run everything and make the rules. Always good to know the law of the jungle before you put on your pith helmet. The sponsors here create mega events, think Questlove spinning with Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake at the DirectTV Super Saturday Night … more on that later, but you get the drift. Stevie Wonder did the Bud Party, Lil Wayne was at GQ, Cee Lo helmed the ESPN event, and so on.

So Friday night at 11 p.m., I show up at the Playboy party. Wow. Yes it was what you expected. Music thumping, booty bumping, crab cakes lumping, crazy crazy. Food by Besh, lots of great music and hanging in small roped off areas shouting at your friends who are four inches from you. Lots of networking and fending off the Playmates and wanna-be Playmates and Bunnies who all ignore the NFL-ers and sponsors and media . . . the girls all try to collect as many middle-aged devilishly cherubic food dudes as they can. Just sayin’. More parties, and by 3 a.m., I am sipping Café au Lait and eating beignets at Café du Monde with drunk street urchins, shifty grifters, cops, Lorena Garcia, and crazy fans leaving bars in the French Quarter. Lots of paparazzi there angling in on an Eric Rovner sighting that never materializes. By 4 a.m., I am in bed wondering what the heck tomorrow will look like and if I will survive.

Saturday morning I do some press, hit the concert at the Beach Bowl, which is now an NBC sports event. It’s amazing. DirectTV built the coolest super-tent and created a campus of buildings for all its parties and events. The level of finish is insane. I go to the tailgate, then to the blue carpet. I am a mid-level B-list cable TV guy. I am so lucky, no complaints here. Any other day of year, I am a ‘someone.’  Not today. I feel about two inches tall as I have to explain who I am to hundreds of media gathered to talk to Snoop, Neil Patrick Harris, Neon Deion, Strahan, Toomer, Menounos, Palmer, Moon, Lolo Jones and the dozens of big deals assembled for this event. Getting taken down a peg is good for your spiritual development, and it puts things in perspective. I feel better about life and more grateful than I have in months. My agents and managers on the other hand look crushed that I got so little love. I was thrilled. I mean, I got to walk the carpet with my idols. I hit the VIP area, grab some chow and immediately am told that I am in the ‘other’ VIP holding pen. I am moved three times before I get a text from Adam Richman that Peyton Manning’s security ran him over in the carpet tent. Snoop called it “cold.” This Super Bowl VIP thing is brutal. I spend the rest of day watching the game, hanging with Lynn Swann and listening to Pitbull put on a show.

I head to Taste of the NFL and am there all afternoon and evening, I am privileged to be one of the hosts along with Miss America, Mallory Hagan. I bus it over to the Convention Center with 40 Hall of Famers and a dozen active players. Best hour of the weekend so far. We hit the floor, and I check in with all my chef pals, players, and Wayne Kostroski, the Taste founder, James Beard Humanitarian Award winner, and one of my mentors. I adore this man. What he has done to fight hunger in this country is epic. We raise tons of dough, and as a topper, we get a $125,000 check from Party City. That will multiply eight to one in the food bank world and create a million meals. I cry a little. The Party with a Purpose is amazing. Jack Youngblood may be long since out of the NFL, but I swear he can still win any bar fight you could imagine. Still tough. In the middle of the night, we learn that several attendees got nominated to the Hall. Greatness. Lem Barney keeps saying the word ‘LOVE’ over and over all night long. The greatest generation for sure.

I race out of there by 10 p.m. and head to the DirectTV party zone for the concert. I am not prepared for what is inside. They have taken out the Beach Bowl field, all the sand and the bleachers, and created a night club in its place . . . in four hours. There are erotic dancers, oysters, and Champagne, an A+ List crowd, and Questlove killing it—the best set I have ever heard him spin. Timberlake came out with a 20-piece orchestra after a five-year performance hiatus and wowed the crowd despite high expecations . . . his cover of Michael Jackson’s “Shake (your body down to the ground)” was EPIC. Jay-Z appears and all hell breaks loose. Will Ferrell is in the parking lot as I leave and turns down our offer of a ride out of the event, but takes time to sign an autograph for our driver and make us laugh with some signature ribaldry. We check out the GQ party with Lil Wayne and the Stevie Wonder party that Bud Light threw, then off to the Ogden Museum for a final stop of the night. It’s 4 a.m. before I get back home.

Up and at ‘em for a series of conference calls and then off to the game. Alicia Keys has a six-car entourage leaving our hotel, eight motorcycle cops in escort as she whips her way down Poydras Street. We schlepp it . . . short walk, go through security and . . . holy crap, great seats in the end zone, and the Superdome was electric. Amazing game, Beyoncé amazes at halftime and Destiny’s Child has its reunion. The game comes down to the wire and we race out after Baltimore cements the victory. CONGRATS BALTIMORE. We hit the private party that John Besh throws at Borgne and scarf down some of the best chow of the weekend: superb shrimp and grits and crawfish boil. Now I am packing and heading back out in morning.

What did I learn? Well, one thing is for sure, New Orleans is a city with the biggest heart, the most gracious hospitality, and unforgettable and soulful food, and they know how to throw a party. Super Bowl weekend can be here every other year as far as I am concerned. The Crescent City never felt better . . . so as I walked into Loews Hotel the doorman asks me how my weekend was? I tell him, and he says, “If you like Super Bowl week, you oughta’ check out Mardi Gras next weekend, it’s even better.” And having been here for that celebration, he’s right. That’s the kind of city this is. Without peer.

Check out Cartoon Network tonight at 8e/7c and catch the premiere of my pal Danny Boyle’s new series Incredible Crew. Danny directed those awesome HealthPartners’s TV spots that air locally, and he and I are cooking up some cool projects in the kid space together as well.

Bad news for Yelp! Now the big guns are out on a federal level, I have come to believe after a year of being open-minded about Yelp! that with so many people I trust being harassed by them, and bullied, that there has to be a fire where there is smoke.

Thanks to Lori and Julia and the whole MyTalk FM 107.1 team, but most importantly to you all for supporting me in the big Manuary promotion . . . I came from behind in Round One to squeak out a win over Channel 5 weather guru Dave Dahl. I needed that one. Then I came up against the young Minnesota Wild phenom Zach Parise and got my clock cleaned as expected. No shame there, I put $20 on him to win the whole thing the night the brackets came out. After seeing Jason DeRusha on our newsstand cover this month, I regret not backing him all the way, he has nicer calves than expected.

Food fraud rising? Yes. Lots of time spent on this blog advocating for better truth in labeling practices. Check out Kat Kinsman video and article here and rest assured, it’s worse than you think. Imagine how much goes unreported! And check out Marion Nestle and this ridiculous assertion from Coke—isn’t that a form of fraud? Coca-Cola fighting obesity? C’mon now! I continue to believe that having soda machines in schools is no different than selling them booze, dope, or anything else PROVEN to be unhealthy, mind-altering, and deleterious to their learning and well-being.

Check out Michael Fertik’s 2013 tech predictions here, and while none are food-related per se, think of the social commerce collapse predictions and the meta search engine implications for your favorite food sites! Smart guy BTW, who is right most of the time.

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Never judge a book by its cover, I mean, I would have thought D’Amico Kitchen was a smart restaurant choice for a hotel, but it didn’t pan out . . . now Craig Bentdahl, the first-time restaurateur who owns Mill Valley Kitchen in St. Louis Park is opening a new restaurant this summer in the old DK space at Le Méridien Chambers in downtown Minneapolis. According to the press release, “I’ve been working with Craig on this for some time,” said Ralph Burnet, Le Méridien Chambers general partner. “Peggy (his wife) and I love Chef Rakun’s food at Mill Valley. It’s gorgeous cuisine that just happens to be good for you.”

I’ve eaten at MVK, it was fine, nothing special . . . my wife and her friends love it, so maybe that’s a good thing because I liked D’Amico Kitchen when it opened, and they didn’t feel as strongly about it as me. I am most disappointed that this was the ‘big news’ that had been touted for several weeks in wake of the DK exit story. This is not a “Holy crap!” moment, it’s a head shrug and I wish the new team of Marin (yes, that’s the name) bonne chance. The Marin team will be doing multiple meal services and in-room dining. Not as easy as it sounds. Can’t wait to see if they can pull it off, make the space look like its theirs and not either of the former occupants’ leftovers, and most importantly cook some dynamite food.

Truth in Advertising: Footlong Case Study

Every year at the State Fair I take my yardstick and measure all the footlongs I eat, none are 12 inches. Vendors think it’s cute to point out that their signs say “About a foot long” and I think it’s pretty funny too . . . apparently some customers want every inch at Subway. This is hilarious: Watch as Subway responds to sandwich scandal: ‘”Footlong Not Intended to Be a Measurement of Length”.

Now while this is funny, it also is another indicator of the proliferation of lying, the absence of accurate labeling, and a complete disregard for the truth that some companies seem to use as a centerpiece of their culture. Lying on labels, making misleading health claims, etc., all adds up to a complete and total disregard for the consumer and tells you that these companies don’t give a crap about anything other than your money. It’s shameful.

Worst Food Trends

I think Josh Ozersky is the one of the handful of best writers in America. Check out this superb blurbish listicle on the worst food trends. Every time I read his column I think to myself, “That’s what I think!!! I was just talking to someone about that!” He is masterful in capsulizing exactly what many of us are thinking and feeling. That innate sense is his greatest strength. Love that guy. His Pro-Am Salumist POV is so chillingly well put, it makes me cringe with delight.

Bourdain: The Taste, Guts and Glory

Tony Bourdain’s new show starts now on ABC. Well, not exactly, but you can see a clip here. This is a little behind-the-scenes glimpse at The Taste. I had dinner late last fall with Tony after an appearance we made to together in Washington, DC, in support of DC Central Kitchen. Sitting around Jose Andres’ Jaleo, he gave me his two cents on judged programming in the culinary reality competition space. His take was that with four judges, you have to have one that the other three can pick on relentlessly. I got money that says it isn’t Nigella or Ludo. I can’t wait to see this show, but more eagerly, I can’t wait to see him telling real stories from the road on CNN. Look for my interview with Tony in an upcoming issue of Delta Sky Magazine and come see us on stage together for Guts and Glory at the State Theater in May. You can get tickets here.

Shameless Plug of the Week: The NEW season of Bizarre Foods premieres Feb. 11. Set the DVRs!

Rick Nelson’s paean to coq au vin, a dish I know enough about to be dangerous, got me racing to check out the source recipes for his column. It’s a great recipe, but as someone who has made it his mission in life to collect and perfect these type of recipes, I can pass on to all of you that using a deep, grape-y, high quality Gigondas will make your coq rise to any occasion you choose to show it off at!

My family XMAS trip this year was to the lovely isle of Jamaica in the West Indies, a great country with great people and superb food. Scotchies was better than ever, the jerk chicken especially, and the Half Moon resort, taken over two years ago by the RockResort management company is one of the worlds great ‘old world’ charmers updated for the next generation. Sitting on 400 acres of coastline, the resort issues you bikes and golf carts upon arrival so you can putter from its varied series of beaches, events, and activities. I was stunned at the depth of quality and care expressed by what I can only describe as the most friendly and gracious staff of any hotel I have ever stayed at. What a stunner of a property, perfect for families looking to take a break. I can’t recommend this place enough. The resort has it all, but this classic sprawling resort allows you to do nothing at all but sit on a private beach if you want to, or be as active as a world class athlete. You must experience this place if you enjoy warm weather vacations . . . bliss.

In Jamaica, as in many other places around the world, everyone knows how to cook something. Walk up to any kid and ask—they can all catch a fish and cook it. In our country, we are undergoing a culinary transformation, a renaissance of appreciation, but at its base level, the train is leaving the station without a lot of people on board. Learning to cook, to actually care for yourself and others in that respect, is something that is equally as important as any other life skill. This HuffPo piece reflects that way of thinking and its worth a read, its why food education needs to become a trend in 2013.

WaPo’s food blog is no more, same with Gourmet Live. WaPo’s Tim Carman’s point about the hungry animal is spot on, and describes the problem with digital media to a tee. Sure there are 500 TV channels, so that genre is competitive, but there are a billion blogs! How do they become economically self-sustaining? Or meaningfully different than everything else around it? At mspmag.com we offer a ton of content, as do several other outlets around town. but differentiation and economic health are tenuous in this space for everyone. What do you think this blog (let’s make it personal shall we?) should be doing more of? Less of? Be honest. And e-mail your suggestions to info@andrewzimmern.com. Are there any local food blogs or websites you think are a complete waste of time? Anyone getting it 100 percent right?

Check this out next week, my pal Dr. Fred Opie from Babson College is a talking head in the upcoming documentary film Soul Food Junkie, which premiers next week on Independent Lens. He is awesome.